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Definition of total verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

total

verb
 
/ˈtəʊtl/
 
/ˈtəʊtl/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they total
 
/ˈtəʊtl/
 
/ˈtəʊtl/
he / she / it totals
 
/ˈtəʊtlz/
 
/ˈtəʊtlz/
past simple totalled
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
past participle totalled
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
(US English) past simple totaled
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
(US English) past participle totaled
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
 
/ˈtəʊtld/
-ing form totalling
 
/ˈtəʊtlɪŋ/
 
/ˈtəʊtlɪŋ/
(US English) -ing form totaling
 
/ˈtəʊtlɪŋ/
 
/ˈtəʊtlɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. total something to reach a particular total
    • Imports totalled $1.5 billion last year.
    • In 2005–6, college enrolments totalled some 5 400.
  2. total something/somebody (up) to add up the numbers of something/somebody and get a total
    • Each student's points were totalled and entered in a list.
    Topics Maths and measurementc1
  3. total something (especially North American English, informal) to damage a car very badly, so that it is not worth repairing it
    • She never forgave him for totaling her car.
    see also write offTopics Transport by car or lorryc2
  4. Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin totalis, from totum ‘the whole’, neuter of Latin totus ‘whole, entire’. The verb, at first in the sense ‘add up’, dates from the late 16th cent.
See total in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee total in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
perspective
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 3000
B2
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